I just read somewhere, and I'm not sure if it is true, that Zidane found out that his mother is in hospital the VERY SAME DAY Materazzi alledgely (sp?) insulted her. If that is true I probably would've done the same to Marco but then again, I'm not a footballing legend who is looked up to by millions of football fans, both young and old. I think Zidane should've said to him 'Wait till I win the World Cup, then I'll knock the sh*t out of you'.

Originally Posted by Fazal
The calim is: Not only Materazzi said something BAD to Zidane... but he also twisted Zidane's ni[][]le with his finger.... and thereby questioned Zidane's manhood... Materazzi is a bad boy.

The question is... did he question Zidane's manhood or he is the other type?? lol...

" On July 11, 2006, FIFA declared its intent to officially investigate the incident.[27]
The new provisions had been adopted on 28 March2006[28][29] and may lead to the FIFA Executive Committee imposing harsh sanctions and even disallowing Italy's team the World Cup victory if Materazzi is convicted of having insulted Zidane with racial slurs"

"Random acts of violence"
Andrew Miller
July 11, 2006As Zinedine Zidane so memorably demonstrated in Sunday's football World Cup final, tempers can fray rather easily in the world of competitive sport. With that in mind, Cricinfo presents eleven instances when emotions spilled over into something more dramatic than your average tete-a-tete. Go to article

R u a brazilian fan?. I mean, it makes lots of sense to have such hatred towards Zidane when he knocked out twice Brazil. I am a hardcore Brazilina supporter. and I was really upset with Zidane in 98. But, this time, i actually supported france after they knocked out my Brazil. Brazil ddint play at all to win this cup. So.. I dont have anyting other than team disappointment. Comparing Zidane to Hagi or Brolin, is quite rediculous. U r must be joking.

Well, every truth is coming out today as Zidane will appear in French television at 1900 hrs British time. So lets wait what the legend says. I am really feeling sad for him and his fans. He is still my favourite one although I do not support his crime in the final match.

Originally Posted by SMHasan
Well, every truth is coming out today as Zidane will appear in French television at 1900 hrs British time. So lets wait what the legend says. I am really feeling sad for him and his fans. He is still my favourite one although I do not support his crime in the final match.

Really? Can't wait! I'm sure millions of eyes around the world will be glued on him.

Zinedine Zidane could be stripped of his World Cup Golden Ball award, FIFA chief Joseph Blatter has stated.

The Frenchman pipped Fabio Cannavaro and Andrea Pirlo to the honour, but there is the possibility that FIFA could act to reverse the decision made by a panel of journalists after his head-butt on Marco Materazzi in the World Cup Final.

“I’ve ordered our disciplinary section to open an investigation regarding the incident,” Blatter told the Repubblica newspaper. “We’ll await their findings before taking any action.

“The winner of that award is not decided by FIFA, but by an international commission of journalists.

“Saying that, FIFA’s executive committee has the power and the need to intervene when dealing with comportments which go against the ethics of sport.

“But we have to wait for the time being. Being innocent until being proved guilty is a sacred principle.”

Zidane shocked the footballing community with his gesture, one which Blatter has admitted was rather unexpected.

“It hurt me,” he continued. “I’ve known Zidane for many years. Seeing him react like that was bad, for himself and for fair play.

“He was so distraught after the game that when the French officials told him to go and collect his medal, he replied by stating that he didn’t deserve a medal.”

The Italian newspaper also used the interview to ask Blatter why he wasn’t part of the ceremony in which the Azzurri were handed the World Cup trophy.

“I was convinced that the honour should have gone to my Vice-President and UEFA President Lennart Johansson,” he explained.

“The decision had already been taken after the quarter-finals when it became clear that the title would have gone to a European nation. I thought it was the right thing to do.”

Meanwhile, Zidane is set to speak publicly for the first time after his controversial red card on French television this evening.

Marco Materazzi acknowledged he insulted Zinedine Zidane before the French captain head-butted him in the World Cup final, but repeated his denial that he called Zidane a "terrorist."

"I did insult him, it's true," Materazzi said in Tuesday's Gazzetta dello Sport. "But I categorically did not call him a terrorist. I'm not cultured and I don't even know what an Islamic terrorist is."

"I held his shirt for a few seconds only, then he turned round and spoke to me, sneering," the Italian defender told the newspaper. "He looked me up and down, arrogantly and said: 'If you really want my shirt, I'll give it to you afterwards."'

"It was one of those insults you're told tens of times and that always fly around the pitch," he said.